Category Archives: college

50 Years of Running: How the Big Boys Do It

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Following our second-place finish at Division III nationals, Coach Kent Finanger suggested we all travel to Madison to watch the Division 1 national meet in Wisconsin. Even with classes going on and the need to catch up, a bunch of … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: National Ambitions

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The first time our Luther cross country team traveled to the national cross country meet, we flew to Boston, Massachusetts and finished in 20th place with 441 points. North Central College, led by its perennial All-American Bruce Fischer in 4th … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Performance time

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As the last two weeks of cross country season wound down, there was little time for looking backward as all our focus came down to one thing: getting through the Regional Championships to make Nationals. That was our whole goal … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Take Nothing For Granted

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After team members circulated rumors about feeling “burnout,” our coach Kent Finanager turned on the motivational jets. What coach wants to hear their runners bitching and whining their way into failure? The season was already marked by success. But it … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Petrified into silence

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off our narrow 28-29 dual meet win over LaCrosse, our team traveled east across Wisconsin to compete in the Carthage Invitational at Petrifying Springs State Park in Kenosha. We’d always performed well in that meet, and our pack was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Achilles Heel

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

On October 2nd of 1978, our cross country team ran a hill workout in Palisades Park, a bluff reserve on the southeast side of downtown Decorah. That weekend, we were scheduled to race at the St. Olaf Invitational. My former … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Runner: Let’s rock and roll

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the summer of 1978, I finally bought my first Rolling Stones record. I’d always been a Beatles guy, but of course I knew the Stones’ music, and my favorite songs were Tumbling Dice and Happy, on which Keith Richards … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A New Me

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

My parents both drove back with me to Luther College in the fall of 1978. We took the back roads through southwestern Wisconsin to enjoy the scenery, stopping at times to get out and stretch while gazing at the hazy … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: First steps to clarity

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off the two semesters that my friends called “Cud’s weird year,” I arrived home at the farmhouse where our family lived for a year and took a hard look in the mirror. My hair was so thick and long … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Rough surfaces and deep dives

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The winter of 1977 was, like so many winters in the late 1970s and early 80s, as cold as hell and frozen over. We trained through the cold by running on snow-packed roads. We’d often leave in the near-dark and … Continue reading →

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